Carleton College has a special place in my heart: another Minnesota institution of higher learning, in the same town where my kids' favorite breakfast cereal is made, academic home of the late Paul Wellstone, and my husband's alma mater. So it was with great interest that I read this report of Carleton's historic academic response to Hurricane Katrina in today's IHE. (Also see this story from Carleton's alumni magazine, Voice.) If I had a hat, it'd be off in recognition of one institution's commitment to not forgetting, and for using that memory as a true teaching moment.
...[F]ollowing a faculty vote, the college announced that it would do something today that it has never done before: call off all classes and replace them with a day of programs on a single theme of Katrina. While some colleges call off classes for teach-ins following a local or national crisis (such as 9/11), the Carleton program is a bit different — planned over several months, yet also related to a single recent event.
...[A]t the heart of the plans for the day is learning: history, politics, the environment, culture. Oden, the president, said that one inspiration for the day came from a book he read before Katrina that he wishes more people had read. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America focuses in part about decisions made by the government — and how those decisions helped and hurt various groups of people, with some tragic effects, particularly on poor people.Posted by perry032 at March 31, 2006 02:06 PM | TrackBackThat issue of knowledge is why he returns to the theme that as meritorious as it is for colleges to encourage students and faculty members to build homes in New Orleans, imagine what might have happened if more colleges encouraged more people to read such works — and to truly reflect on them and keep that information with them.
Said Oden: “The question we have to think about is: Why do we forget so soon?”
That sounds terrific!!!
Why do we forget so soon and why the hell does it look like it did the day after the hurricane? Why isn't it all cleaned up with power and water restored. Oh yeah...because the people and dollars who would normally be perfoming those duties are in Iraq.
Makes me so angry.
Posted by: Mieke at April 5, 2006 04:08 PMYeah, Mieke, anger--and sadness--all around. You might be interested to know that Carleton now has videos up from the day long teach-in. I found them here: http://apps.carleton.edu/events/katrina/katrina_day/av/
Posted by: Yvette at April 12, 2006 08:18 AM